Premiere TAMERLANO Dramma per musica in three acts by George Frideric Handel Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym after Agostino Piovene and Ippolito Zanelli, based on Jacques Pradon
Sung in Italian with German surtitles
Conductor: Karsten Januschke Director: R.B. Schlather Set Designer: Paul Steinberg Costume Designer: Doey Lüthi Lighting Designer: Marcel Heyde
Dramaturge: Mareike Wink
Tamerlano: Lawrence Zazzo Bajazet: Yves Saelens Asteria: Elizabeth Reiter Andronico: Brennan Hall Irene: Cecelia Hall
Leone: Liviu Holender
Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester
With generous support from the Frankfurt Patronatsverein – Sektion Oper
Tamerlano, the 18th opera composed by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), was performed for the first time on October 31st 1724 in the King’s Theatre, Haymarket, London. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym, who provided the texts for almost a dozen of Handel's operas. It was based on libretti by Agostino Piovene and Ippolito Zanelli, which were inspired by a piece by Jacques Pradon (1675). Oper Frankfurt's season opened with a revival of Handel's Radamisto, which is now joined by Tamerlano.
The story: After beating the Turkish Sultan Bajazet, the prince of the Tatars, Tamerlano, imprisoned him and his daughter Asteria. Despite being already engaged to Irene, Tamerlano asks for the Sultan's daughter's hand and orders his vassal Andronico, who loves Asteria, to marry Irene. But Bajazet does not want to give his daughter to the tyrant. Asteria decides to marry Tamerlano and kill him. When the marriage is broken off she tries, in vain, to poison him. Andronico manages to prevent his beloved from poisoning herself. Tamerlano orders that the Sultan be beheaded and Asteria enslaved. Bajazet poisons himself. Tamerlano, moved, releases Asteria. Now nothing stands in the way of Tamerlano marrying Irene, and Adronico, Asteria.
The conductor is Karsten Januschke, who worked at Oper Frankfurt until 2015 – as a coach and then Kapellmeister. His guest engagements with the company have included Olga Neuwirth's Lost Highway (2018) in the Bockenheimer Depot. Current plans include projects at the Munich and Stuttgart State Operas. The American artist and operatic director R.B. Schlather is making his European debut. He has made a name for himself in his home country with his experimental style and predilection for Handel's works: he directed Ariodante in 2018 for Opera Omaha's ONE Festival. Projects this season include two Mozart operas: Don Giovanni (Opera Philadelphia) and Così fan tutte (Santa Fe Opera). The American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo (Tamerlano) is a regular guest at Oper Frankfurt, where he recently sang Arsamene in Handel's Xerxes (2018/19). Plans include Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Staatsoper in Dresden. The Belgian tenor Yves Saelens (Bajazet) is no stranger to audiences in Frankfurt. His roles for the company have included Ferdinand in Adès’ The Tempest in 2013/14. Future plans include Valzacchi in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. The young American countertenor Brennan Hall is making his Europen debut, with the role of Andronico. The other roles are being sung by Ensemble Members Elizabeth Reiter (Asteria), Cecelia Hall (Irene) and „new Member“ Liviu Holender (Leone).
Premiere: Thursday November 7th 2019, at 19.30hrs in the Bockenheimer Depot
Further performances: November 9th, 11th, 14th, 16th, 20th, 22nd, 24th 2019
Unless otherwise stated, all performances begin at 19.30hrs
Tickets cost: € 20 to € 80 (with a 12.5% pre-booking fee when not purchased direct from the theatre)
Tickets can be obtained from the usual outlets, by telephone +49 (0)69 – 212 49 49 4 or online www.oper-frankfurt.de.
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